Self-aligning ball bearing



- '1,599,672 (3. NXON SELFJAIJIGNING BALL BEARING @riginal Filed Jan. 5. 1.921v

J 'www 1 l h W i l Patented Sept.. 14, 1926.

MOSES C. NIKON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SELF-ALIGNING BALL BEARING.

Original application filed January 3, 1921, Serial No. 434,754. Divided and this application filed ."iieeember 15, 1922. Serial No. 607,241.

This application is a' division of my former application Serial No. 434,754, filed January 3, 1921, in which thelubricating means shown and described therein is omitted in the present case.

The objects of the present invention are to provide means that will permit self align ment of rolling contact bearings when placed between thrust and resisting members, and such other improvements as may hereinafter appear, and consists, preferably, in the construction described, which may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a windmill, with the side of the covering cut away to better show the interior, and the top broken away to reduce the size of the drawing; Fig. 2 is' a plan view of Fig. l, in which the invention is shown yin connection with the wind-wheel shaft; Fig. 3 is an enlarged View of the invention in Vconnection with a section of the windmill, and Fig. i is a modification, illustrating the invention as applied at either or both sides of the bearing.

Referring to the drawings, similar numer als of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different views, in which 1 is an incasement, which in the present case, forms the main o1' supporting frame, and 2 is a covering for the same.

To simplify the incasement or mainframe, supports 5 are made separately and secured thereto, as by bolts 6, and to furnish better foundation for these supports, ribs 7 that rise above the surface of eXtension bottom of the incasement are provided.

Secured to the mainframe, as by bolts 10, are journal boxes 11, and journaled therein is a wind-wheel or driving shaft 12, to which are rigidly secured gear-pinions 13. These pinions mesh with and drive gear-wheels 14, which, in the present case, are preferably mounted upon stud-shafts 15. These stud-shafts are provided with heads 15 to retain the gear-wheels in place, and are rigidly held by and extend from boxes or anchors 16, which in turn are rigidly secured to the mainframe, as by bolts 17.

Mounted in the supports 5 is a shaft 33, which may be secured in any suit-able man iler, and pivotally mounted thereon is a frame or member 34. The sides at the freev end of this frame are firmly connected, as

by connection 41, and hubs 48, 43 is a shaft 42, upon `which is mounted and firmly secured hub de of the pltman 45, in any suitable manner. The other end of the j pitman being loosely mounted upon a wrist-pin i-7 that extends across and forms an operative connection with the gear-wheels 14, and is operated thereby. 'Also, near the free end of the pivoted frame, a shaft f'is pivotally mounted 1n hubs or bearings 55, 55, and firmly se cured thereto, in any suitable manner, is the hub 56 of the pump-rod, into which is tapped the pump-rod 56, the latter being operative through the tubular mast 59.

These various parts have been more minutely described and explained in the previously mentioned application.

The friction caused by thekend thrust of the windwheel or driving shaft consumes a great deal of power, and to avoid or re-v duce this friction an endthrust rolling con# tact bearing has been devised, in which cup 26, cone 27 and balls 2S may be used in connection with an inverted dish or convex shaped member 29 to compensate for unevenness of the resisting surface 30, thereby permitting` adjustment and self alignment of the bearing, whereby a more uniform pressure is distributed on the balls. In the application of this end thrust bearing, in the present case, the end of shaft 12 is reduced thereby forminga shoulder 31, the end passing through the aperture of the convex member, with the shoulder 31 resting against the bearing.

When the device is used in connection with a thrust bearing only, the cup and cone may be enlarged (see Fig. 3), giving more room between the cone and shaft thereby affording greater adjustment of the convex member, in which case the opening through the web of the cup 26 should be of a size approximately that of the shaft, so as to hold the bearing in a correct position.

The modification shown in Fig. 4, illustrates a combination self aligning radial and thrust rolling Contact bearing, in which the present invention may be applied ateither or both sides of the bearing, depending upon whether the thrust and resisting member presents a true or rough contact surface. In it,l the size of the cup 26a and cone 27a should be such that the latter will contact with the shaft 12a and revolve therewith.

pivotally mounted in In this construction it is necessary that the cone be short enough to avoid interfering with the convex member as it moves toward the shaft, and the convex member 29 is shown in Contact with an even surface of pinion 13a and the other convex memb'er 29h is supported by the journal bonr 1l, which is shown with a rough contact surface in the form of a lump llc, and illustrates adjustment pern'iitted in connection with a combination bearing.

It is evident that this invention adapted to other purposes than in connection with windmills, and it is not the intention to limit its use to that purpose. Also` While its preferred embodiment has been described herein I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction shown, as it is apparent changes may readily be made without departing from the spirit of my invention; and having described one form of construction I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following:

l. In a mechanism, the combination of a revoluble shaft, a member rigid with and carried by said shaft, a resistingmember, a rolling contact bearing on. said shaft and between said members, and a compensating device mounted between one of said members and the bearing and having a convex surface adapted to seat against the bea-ring in different angular positions when being assembled.

2. In a mechanism, the combination of a revoluble shaft, a member rigid with and carried by said shaft, a resisting member, a self contained rolling contact bearing on said shaft and between said members, and a compensating device mounted between one of said members and the bearing and when being assembled is free to move to different angular positions independent of both, and having a convex surface adapted to seat against the bearing.

3. In a mechanism, the combination of a revoluble shaft havingl a projection associated therewitl, a rolling Contact bearing in contact with said projection, a resisting member,'and a compensating device mounted between the resisting member and said bearing and adapted to seat against the latter in different angular positions, while being assembled.

fi. In a mechanism, the combination of a rotatable end thrust member, a rolling contact bearing, a resisting member, and a compensating device mounted between one of said members and the bearing and free to move when being assembled to different angular positions and having a convex surface adapted to seat against the bearing.

5. In a mechanism, the combination of a rotatable end thrust member, a rolling contact bearing, a resisting member, and a compensating device mounted between one of said members and the bearing and free to move when being assembled to different angular positions and adapted to seat against the bearing.

MOSES C. NIKON. 

